Citation Guides and Style Manuals: How To Read Citations

How To Read Citations

You will encounter references (abbreviated publication information) in footnotes, databases, bibliographies, textbooks and articles. References contain clues (such as dates, volume numbers, and total pages) that can help you determine the type of publication.

Books:

Publishers and total pages help identify books:

Pomeranz, Kenneth. The Great Divergence: China, Europe, and the Making of the Modern World Economy (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000) 382 pp.

Elements of this reference:

Author: Pomeranz, Kenneth

Book Title: The Great Divergence: China, Europe, and the Making of the Modern World Economy

Edited Book:

A reference to an edited book is a little harder to unpack. As a rule, the book title and the book editor are indexed in the library catalog.